


Leagues Above

by JustAndrea



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, mild spoilers for Lego Batman movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 22:19:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10054043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Sometimes it can be hard to feel like the best, toughest and most awesome superhero dad when you and your son are surrounded by other superheroes. But luckily, there’s still only one Bat-Dad.





	

Dick’s eyes widened as the crystal fortress came into view, its icy walls shimmering in the winter sunlight. “Wowwww…” He said in awe, pressing his face closer to the window of the Bat-Jet just so he could try and get a better look at it.

Batman, on the other hand, didn’t look impressed whatsoever. Honestly, what was so great about a house made out of ice and crystals? Sure, it was great if you wanted to be alone, but a huge manor or a dark cave was still MUCH cooler in his opinion. Besides, he had seen the Fortress of Solitude plenty of times. 

In fact, Dick had seen the Fortress once before too! But then again, Batman knew very well how excited his son could get about things - even things that he had seen or done before. And, considering what else they were going to be doing that day, Batman supposed he couldn’t blame the kid too much for being so ‘jazzed’. 

Within a few minutes, the Bat-Jet began descending, slowing down gradually until it finally landed on the soft snow below. As soon as the jet stopped, the dynamic duo jumped out, doing a flip in the air before landing themselves. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Batman said with a casual tone as he started leading the way. It was clear he wasn’t nearly as excited about this visit as Dick was, but at the same time he wasn’t completely dreading it either (even after he remembered the recent anniversary party incident). Definitely a bit of an improvement. 

It didn’t take long for Dick to catch up with him, though while he still seemed excited, the kid also started to feel nervous. “…Um, hey, Padre?”

“Yeah?” Batman asked, glancing back at his sidekick/son.

“Well, um… Do you think they’ll like me?” Dick asked innocently, “I mean, I’m still new at the whole superhero thing. And I’m not a Master Builder either, and… I’ve never really been the most popular, so-”

“Relax, kid,” Batman told him bluntly, though with a small smile, “Trust me, they’re going to like you. …Pretty sure no one could hate you, actually.” Even some of their villains had ended up practically falling in love with the new Boy Wonder just because of how cute and sweet he was despite also being the one that helped defeat them and stop their evil plans. 

“Besides, they invited you, remember? It’s not like you invited yourself.” News of Gotham’s newest young hero and how he had helped saved the whole city had traveled fast, and given how surprising it was that Batman actually let someone help him, it didn’t take long for Superman to start sending emails and invites. “The rest of the League definitely wants to meet Robin, there’s no doubt about that, which means you’ve got nothing to worry about.” There was a pause. “…Except for being annoyed by Green Lantern. But yeah, that’s the only thing you have to worry about.”

Giggling a bit at that, Dick’s nerves started to fade a bit. “Okay,” he nodded, smiling slightly, “…Thanks Bat-Dad.”

Batman nodded back at him, and the two continued to trudge through the snow. Thankfully, it didn’t take the duo very long to reach the Fortress, and no sooner had they rang the doorbell did the giant door open. 

“Heyyy, glad you could finally make it!” Superman greeted, giving a quick wave to Batman (who had actually managed to hold back any scowling) before turning all his attention to Dick - whose eyes were already wide with awe. 

“Oh, uh, hi Mister Superman!” the boy greeted, “I’m Robin and, gosh, it’s just such an honor to meet you, sir!” An honor? Tc’ch. Batman couldn’t help but roll his eyes a bit at that, but still managed to keep quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment. 

Not noticing the eyeroll, the Man of Steel just chuckled. “Thanks Robin, it’s nice to meet you too. And hey, call me Supes.”

“Heh, alright, Mister Supes!” Dick grinned back at him. 

Still looking a bit amused, Superman opened the door a bit more, allowing the excited sidekick to run inside. “Cute kid, Bats,” he told Batman, directing his attention back to him, “Though I’ve gotta be honest, I didn’t really expect you to be the fatherly type.”

“Yeah well, these things just happen,” the Dark Knight replied casually as he walked inside, “Like, sometimes you just wake up one day and think ‘Hey, I should have a son that can be my sidekick!’. And so, here we are.”

“…Uh, if you say so, bro. Anyway, come on-” Shutting the massive door, Superman then flew ahead towards one of the Fortress’ many corridors, “Robin and the others are probably wondering what’s keeping us.”

Given how many Justice League members there were, Batman hadn’t been sure how many of them would actually be there. Once they entered the icy living room though, he could see that there were only four other heroes there - which was probably for the best. They didn’t want Dick to get too overwhelmed, after all.

“Wow, I still can’t believe I’m actually meeting you all! This is incredible!” Dick told them, a huge (and adorable) smile still on his face, “Thank you so much for inviting me here!”

“Well, thank you for accepting, Robin,” Wonder Woman told him with a pleased smile.

“Yeah, don’t sell yourself short, little man!” Green Lantern added, “I mean, after we heard how you helped save Gotham-”

“Not to mention how you managed to get Batman to actually like working on a team-” Flash quickly mumbled.

“-We just had to meet you for ourselves!”

“Nice costume, by the way!” Cyborg told him, “Really diggin’ the cape!”

“Wow, really?! Thanks!” Dick said as he did a bit of a twirl, just to completely show off the sparkly garment, “I picked it out myself!”

“Nice!” Cyborg grinned as he and the other heroes nodded in approval. Even Batman couldn’t help but smile a little. Sure, the costume wasn’t dark whatsoever, but it was perfect for Dick, and that was all that mattered.

“Heh, looks like you’re already fitting in well here,” Superman spoke up, causing Dick to look back at him, “So how’s about we move onto the tour?”

“Oh wow, really?! I mean, I don’t want to be a bother. Plus, I’ve already sorta-” But before he could even finish his sentence, Superman grabbed Dick’s hand and lifted him up into the air, causing the young hero to let out a bit of yelp.

Which of course caused his father to immediately go into protection mode. “Hey!” Not even hesitating, Batman got out his grappling hook. As for his scolding words and a few choice insults for the Kryptonian, he was just barely holding them back. 

…However, before he could even take aim, he saw Dick’s expression of surprise turn into pure joy.

Not looking afraid whatsoever, Dick cheered as Superman continued to fly him around the living room. He ooh’d and aww’d at the beautiful crystals, and gasped at some of the vast landscapes and amazing views that could be seen through some of the windows or clearer crystals. “This is _incredible!_ WOOOO!” “Heh, I know, right?”

“…” Slowly, Batman put his grappling hook away, though a small scowl still remained. “Well, maybe _you_ should know that Robin probably could’ve gotten up there himself. Kid’s good at climbing and acrobatics and all that stuff so, you probably didn’t need to fly him around.”

However, even Dick ignored this statement. Clearly, flying was a lot more fun. “So,” Superman asked, “you ready to see the rest of the place?”

“YEAH!” Dick nodded eagerly, “I wanna see it all!” 

“Well, no problem there!” the Man of Steel proudly told him. Unlike another certain hero, he had almost nothing to hide. And, not wanting to miss his reaction to some of the other surprises the Fortress of Solitude had to offer, the other Justice League members easily took flight themselves to follow them (with the exception of Flash, though he was just as fast as them even if he was stuck on the ground).

All of the other members… except for one. “…I guess I’ll just, wait here,” Batman mumbled, his expression just a bit softer as he took a seat on the now-empty couch, “I mean, I’ve seen this whole place. Even memorized the schematics of it, so why would I wanna be part of the tour? Nope, I’m totally fine just staying here…” 

After all, he was used to being alone.

()()()()()()()()()()

“-And before I knew it, asteroids were just falling everywhere! It was, like, raining rocks or something! And all of them were heating up in the atmosphere and catching fire, I barely had enough ice breath to cool them all!”

“Gosh… So what happened next?!” the boy asked, completely focused on the story and practically dying to hear what happened next. But while he was impressed with the story, Batman clearly wasn’t.

Of course, Superman didn’t notice his rival’s disinterest. “Well, once I figured out where the asteroids were coming from,” he proudly continued, “I was able to fly right to the source and redirect it so that the asteroids would start flying near a red sun instead of Earth, which means they would either float by harmlessly or burn up. And, I still managed to make it back to Metropolis in time for lunch.”

Smiling, Dick sighed a bit in relief, glad to hear that the story had a happy ending. Then again, with Superman in them, they usually did. “Wow, being able to go to space whenever you want must be amazing!”

“Yeah, space is pretty great!” Green Lantern added, “You should see some of the Lantern Planets we’ve got out there! And hey, if you want we could probably take you out there sometime!”

Dick gasped. “Really?!” 

“Sure, why not?” Green Lantern shrugged, with Superman adding “We’d love to take you!”

“Of course, it’ll be after we see Themyscira,” Wonder Woman reminded them.

“Don’t forget Cloud Cuckoo Land!” Flash added.

“Buuut before that, we’ve gotta introduce you to the other League members,” Cyborg spoke up, “I know they’re just dyin’ to meet you, Rob! And hey, some of them are even around your age!”

“Whoa, really? Gosh, I can’t wait to meet them!” Dick grinned. Honestly, Batman wasn’t sure how the kid could even still smile, let alone grin, given how much he had been doing it in just the past couple hours. Clearly, Dick was enjoying the visit just as much as the other League members were. But even so- 

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be meeting you soon,” Batman finally spoke up, quickly getting everyone’s attention pretty much just out of surprise, “But, speaking of soon, I think we should be leaving soon, right? I mean, it has been a couple hours so-”

“Wait, can’t we stay just a bit longer?” Dick asked.

“Yeah, Bats,” Superman started to add, “It’s nearly lunchtime anyway so you might as well-”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of lunch back at the Batcave,” Batman retorted, “And I’m sure we’ve got other stuff to do. Tons of very important stuff that I can’t give details about because it’s just that important, so-”

“ _Pleeeease?_ ” Batman scowled, nearly saying no. But of course, his son just HAD to bring out the cute puppydog eyes. “Just a bit longer!” Dick asked again, “Please, Padre?”

“…Ugh. Fine,” the Dark Knight agreed, albeit very reluctantly. Of course, Dick and the other heroes cheered at his answer. And, once lunch was decided on, it didn’t take long for their conversation to continue - and for Batman to once again become silent as he stood to the side of the couch. 

“Even if you can’t stay much longer,” Wonder Woman started to say, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, “I hope you know that you’re welcome to come to other Justice League get-togethers whenever you’d like, Robin.” 

Dick blinked. “I… R-Really?” he asked quietly. Even after their great visit, it was still a bit hard for him to believe just how much the Justice League actually wanted him. 

As for the others, they just smiled at him. “Yeah!” “Of course, little man!” “Why wouldn’t we?” “Trust us, you’re _definitely_ Justice League material!” 

At that last comment, even Batman’s neutral scowl softened a bit. At least that was one thing he could agree with. However, his light smile didn’t last long. 

“Heh, w-wow… Thank you so much, guys!” Unable to help himself, Dick hugged Superman, and it didn’t take long for the others to happily join in on the group hug. “You guys are the greatest!”

“…” Slowly, Batman glanced away. Within a few seconds, the super-group hug broke apart and, at the Man of Steel’s suggestion, they started heading towards the Fortress’ kitchen. …All while Batman blended himself into what little shadows there were, and walked to the front door…

Despite being in the Arctic, it actually wasn’t that cold outside. Or, maybe that was just the thick material of his costume helping out. Whatever it was, Batman was thankful for it. He had a feeling that he would be sitting on the Fortress of Solitude’s doorstep for a while - and while this certainly annoyed him, it still wasn’t enough for him to go back inside and force Dick to leave. …Besides, there were always snow drawings and mini bat-snowmen making to keep him busy.

Eventually though, he did hear the giant door open behind him. Not even looking back, he bluntly said, “I’m not hungry, and I’m busy, so don’t bother asking.”

“…But-” Just that one word was enough for Batman to realize that it wasn’t Superman ,or any of the other League members, that he was talking to. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dick looking back at him with concerned eyes.

“Oh… Uh, hey,” Batman greeted, his tone a lot softer now.

Dick forced a small smile back at him. “Hi… So, what are you doing out here, Padre?”

“Just, uh, doing stuff,” he answered, looking away again. He didn’t hear his son walk away though. He figured that Dick probably just wanted to find him so he could ask if they could extend their visit a couple more hours, or sleep over, or maybe he had decided to just move into the Fortress of Solitude…

But none of those questions ever came. Instead, Dick walked over and sat down in the snow beside him. “…How come you’re sitting out here all by yourself?” he finally asked.

Batman shrugged. “Just felt like it,” he replied, not wanting to say more than that.

“…But, I mean-”

“I’m fine,” he repeated, his voice just a bit more forceful now, though he quickly pulled it back “So just, head back inside, alright? Don’t let me ruin your fun.”

However, rather than being comforted by these words, Dick just looked more concerned. “You’re not ruining my fun… You’re not ruining anything! I-” The boy winced, “I, I’m sorry if I made you mad by asking if we could stay longer-”

“I’m not mad!” Batman insisted, feeling a pinch of guilt, “You didn’t make me mad!”

“Then, what _is_ wrong?” his son retorted, his question innocent enough but with plenty of determination behind it to let his father know that he wasn’t going to take “Nothing” or another “I’m fine” for an answer.

“Ughhhhhh.” Even if he was slowly getting better at it, he still REALLY hated talking about his feelings. “I… don’t really fit into the Justice League,” he slowly admitted, “And, sometimes I want to, but other times I don’t. I’m used to working alone, you can’t always trust people, stuff like that… But… _You_  do fit in well.”

Dick stared at him, still not quite getting it, but holding back his questions so that Batman could continue. 

“You actually like hanging out with the League, and they like hanging out with you - just like I said they would, by the way. But yeah, you have fun with them, and I…” Batman glanced away. “If you’re with them, I’m not really needed… Er, which is fine! I mean, I can’t blame you. There’s a reason why the rest of the Justice League has almost as many fans as me, so-”

“Of course you’re needed, Padre!” Unable to help himself, the Dark Knight flinched at the sudden outburst, and quickly looked back over at Dick. “That’s why I wanted to find you! You weren’t there, and I wanted you to eat lunch with us!” he continued, “It’s not the Justice League without Batman! …And it’s not a meal with friends if I’m not with my dad.”

“…” Batman stared at him, still a bit in shock, “But, I mean-”

“Maybe you aren’t as close to the League as you are to me and Grandpa and Miss Barbara and Joker, but… but they still like you, and I just know they want you around just as much as I do!” Dick told him, his determination on full display now. 

After a moment though, the boy’s expression softened a bit. “Mister Supes and the others may be great heroes - really great, even! - but you’re still the best! Because you’re Batman… Because you’re my dads, and I can’t think of any hero that’s better than them!”

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them, and for a moment, Dick worried that maybe his words had somehow done more harm than good. But eventually, Batman did smile. “…Do you really think they wouldn’t mind having a bat-themed vigilante join them for lunch?”

“Definitely not!” Dick insisted.

“Well… Alright then.” Kicking away the snow drawing of him punching the Joker that he had been working on, Batman stood up, and Dick quickly followed. However, before they headed back inside- “Hey kid?”

“Yeah, Bat-Dad?”

Batman’s smile grew a bit. “…Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better sidekick - or son - that’s better either.” Giving a bit of a teary smile at that, Dick happily hugged him. And of course, his father slowly yet happily returned the hug without any hesitation.

()()()()()()()()()()

“And then Batman came up with the idea to use our heads! Literally!” “It was a pretty great idea.” “Yeah, and so we built a bridge of people so we could reach across the gap and pull Gotham back together!” “Using the power of abs, of course.” 

Dick grinned, and nodded. “Yep! And that’s how we first saved the day together!”

“Geez, now _that’s_ a story you’re not gonna forget!” Flash commented, with the others looking just as impressed, “I’ve heard a lot of first-save stories, but I think that one was one of the best! And that’s even when compared to mine!”

“Yeah!” Cyborg nodded, “Talk about an adventure!”

“And,” Wonder Woman added with a small smirk, “It also sounds like you made a bot of a change, huh Batman?”

Batman shrugged, though smirked a bit back at her. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I didn’t have much to change but, as for the few things I did change, well… I’d say they were changed for the better.”

“Heh, I could toast to that,” Superman told them. He grabbed one of the cupcakes that had been brought out for dessert and held it up in the air, with the others following his lead. “Here’s to Batman and Robin.”

“To Batman and Robin!” the others repeated, with the father-son duo clearly being the loudest. 

“And here’s hoping we’ll see them around again soon!” Green Lantern added, “I mean, I feel like I hardly get to hang out with the rest of you guys in general, but I see Batman even less than that!”

“Yeah well, when you work in the most crime-ridden city in the world, you’re pretty much busy every night,” Batman lightly argued, taking a quick sip of his drink, “But, I guess maybe I can try to take a day or two off to hang out.”

“Yea’, whe’ll d’phantly twy to c’mm ba’k soon!” Dick added, still chewing his cupcake.

“Good to hear,” the Man of Steel nodded, “Next time you guys come, I’ll have to pick up pizza because man, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried pizza from the Bizarro Dimension! It’s one of the few things that dimension actually improves on!”

A bizarro-pizza night with Superman and the rest of the Justice League? …Huh. A few months ago, it never would’ve appealed to Batman at all, even if part of him did sort of wonder about what it would be like. But now… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. 

“Hey man, as long as it’s not Phantom Zone pizza, I’m up for anything,” Flash joked, making the rest of them chuckle.

“Heh, yeah. …Though, I still don’t understand how the Joker could have opened the Phantom Zone anyway, let alone entered it,” Superman wondered, “Hmm, maybe I should start keeping an eye him and those ‘toys’ he makes.”

Stopping mid-bite, Batman swallowed and scowled, preparing to tell Superman to keep his eyes on his own enemies. But before he could- “Oh, uh, I think that was because Miss Harley somehow got the Phantom Zone projector away from the police, after we-”

“Ahaaa, after we, uh, tried to stop the Joker from, uh, becoming too dangerous! Yeah!” Batman quickly interrupted as he put a hand in front of Dick’s face, “Which admittedly  _may have_ involved just a little borrowing and zapping into zones, but-”

“Whoa whoa, wait. Dude, did you-?”

Even as Superman started to scowl at him, Batman was able to easily ignore him, and was instead concentrating on stuffing the rest of his dessert into his utility belt. “Well, this has been fun but you know, it’s getting late, it’s nearly Robin’s bedtime, you know how it is.”

“Huh?” Dick blinked, “Wait, I thought you said there weren’t any bedtimes-?”

“Is that how the Joker did it? Wait, you came to my party just to steal-?!”

“ _Borrowed._  Anyway like I said, this was a great time, really super,” Batman continued as he got out his grappling hook. Within a couple seconds, he aimed and shot it up towards the ceiling, “But like I’ve said we’ve reaaaaally got to get going. Later!”

“But it’s not even nighttime yet- Whoa!” As soon as Batman put an arm around his son, the two of them shot up into the air, easily escaping through a nearby window and leaving the rest of the Justice League behind with either confused or flat expressions on their faces.

“…Okay, maybe he’s still the same Batman,” Wonder Woman dryly commented while Superman just sighed, mumbling something about upgrading the security around his fortress.

“But, on the bright side,” Green Lantern told them, “At least he said that he had a great time!”

**THE END**


End file.
